Black patients with dementia are less likely to receive helpful medications than their white counterparts, according to a new study, per HealthNews Today.
In the study, researchers examined nearly 26,000 men and women in the Mount Sinai health system to see often they received one or more of five classes of medications typically given to dementia patients living at home.
Across the board, researchers found Black dementia patients were receiving the medications much less frequently than white patients.
30 percent of white patients were found to be taking a cholinesterase inhibitor, for example, while just 20 percent of their Black counterparts were. For benzodiazepines, 17.5 percent of Black patients were taking the drug compared to 37 percent of white patients.
Lead author Dr. Alice Hawkins said the five drug classifications taken less frequently by Black patients can be critical to one's quality of life.
“Many of these medications can be imperative in improving the well-being of patients and their loved ones by making sure to address such issues as agitation, mood swings, and other dementia-related neurobehavioral symptoms,” Hawkins said. “[But] what we found was that Black patients had these medications as part of their outpatient medication list consistently less often than white patients.”
Hawkins noted that the study relied on patient medical records, meaning that it was unclear if Black patients were prescribed the medications less frequently or if some couldn't afford to fill the prescriptions they received.
The researchers did suggest that access to specialized doctors could play a role in the disparity.
"Larger systemic forces such as systemic racism, quality of care, and provider bias are harder to pin down, though they all may be playing a role in perpetuating these inequities,” Hawkins said, adding that more research is needed to pinpoint all the factors underlying these disparities.
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